On the 5th, according to the Daegu Northern Police Station, Jo Mo (27), who was arrested on charges that include murdering a family elder and abandoning a body, began assaulting his mother-in-law, identified as A (54 at the time of death), with his hands and feet earlier this year.
At the time, A had moved into a narrow studio apartment in Jung-gu, Daegu, to live with her daughter, Choi Mo (26), in part to protect Choi after Choi reported being abused by her husband beginning soon after their wedding in September last year.
Since moving in this February, Jo allegedly assaulted A over minor domestic complaints — saying she was “noisy at home,” that she “wasn’t unpacking,” or that she “wasn’t tidying up.”
Like her mother, Choi suffered abuse from her husband and, fearing retaliation, did not report the violence to others.
Because there was little intervention, A never received adequate medical treatment despite repeated beatings by her son-in-law. On the 18th of last month, Jo allegedly assaulted her for more than an hour inside the studio; she later died.
A’s body showed multiple fractures to the ribs and pelvis and other injuries. Authorities say the cause of death is suspected to be multiple traumatic injuries from external force.
Police stated, “According to the victim’s daughter’s statement, the woman had suffered ongoing abuse by her son-in-law and did not receive adequate hospital treatment.”
Investigators say Choi assisted in the disposal under coercion from her husband.
The couple abandoned the suitcase roughly an hour after A’s death. About two weeks later, on the 31st of last month, a passerby found the suitcase containing the body about 100 meters downstream from the abandonment site.
A citizen tip prompted police to open an investigation; officers arrested the couple that afternoon.
On the 2nd, Judge Son Bong-gi, who handles arrest warrants at the Daegu District Court, held pretrial detention hearings and issued detention warrants for Jo on charges of killing a family elder and abandoning a body, and for Choi on charges of abandoning a body.
Judge Son said he issued the warrants because both defendants posed a flight risk.
He noted the severity of Jo’s alleged crime — prolonged violence that resulted in death — and said Choi’s alleged failure to intervene amid her husband’s sustained abuse, and her continuation of daily life with him after participating in the disposal, contributed to the decision to detain her.
Police said they are conducting additional probes, including a forensic analysis of Jo’s cellphone, to determine whether he searched for ways to dispose of a body immediately after A’s death.
Authorities plan to send the case to prosecutors as early as the 8th.
A police official said investigators will examine the detailed sequence of events surrounding the death.
